Explanation:
A star emerges from its natal cloud of gas and
dust in this
tantalizing portrait of RY Tauri, a
small stellar nursery
at the edge of the Taurus molecular cloud,
a mere 450 light-years away.
Illuminating a region that spans about 2/3 of a light-year,
the
youthful, central star is
large,
cool, and
known to vary
in brightness.
Still collapsing, in a few million years the
star's winds
will likely clear out the gas and dust clouds,
as it settles down to become a steady main sequence star like
the Sun.
What remains could well include a planetary
system.
The image data for RY Tauri is
from the Gemini Observatory,
on Mauna Kea, Hawaii -- based on observations
proposed by
the Astronomy Club of Dorval, Quebec.